Markers in Noses etc

I have talked to some friends recently about punishment in schools.  All of the schools give their kids a whack here and there, but I have heard a couple of remarkable/ strange ones lately.

One friend reports that when kids are chatting/whacking each other, a co-teacher will have the kids stand up, open their mouths, and grab their ears...for 5 minutes, 10 minutes, whatever it takes.  

Another friend tells me about a student who was acting up in class. She was sent to the teachers office and told to put  a highlighter in each nostril and stand there for the rest of the class.

The most amazing thing to me is the kids actually did it.  I can not imagine what would happen if a kid was told to do this in the US.  After the mutiny, I am guessing the parents would have something to say, but here kids comply.  

Amazing.